ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
Argonauts.ca has a new weekly feature that showcases one of the marquee matchups for fans to watch out for before the next Argos game. This week, we put returners Dominique Dorsey and Larry Taylor head-to-head in a battle of the returners.
Although he has slowly worked his way into the lineup this season and Taylor has played in 11 more contests, Dominique Dorsey still has the attention of every player on the field and every fan in the stands. The undisputed king of kick returns in 2008 and parts of 2007, Dorsey will make his 2009 home debut Saturday afternoon versus the Als. His counterpart on Montreal is Larry Taylor who has taken the kick return spotlight away from last year’s most dynamic returner as he spent the first half of the season in Washington.
The reigning CFL Most Outstanding Special Teams Player, who amassed 2,892 yards despite missing the final five games last season, enters his third contest of the 2009 season with 11 kickoff returns for 215 yards and six punt returns for 37 yards. With the exception of a solid missed field goal return versus B.C., the pint-size returner has yet to break one for a major yet, however, he has given the Argos a much needed upgrade I field position since returning two weeks ago – something that was a place of inconsistency for the Boatmen throughout the first half of the 2009 campaign.
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» Numbers:
2 Games Played
6 Punt Returns
37 Punt Return Yards
11 Kickoff Returns
215 Kickoff Return Yards
326 All Purpose Yards
The exciting Montreal receiver/returner was relatively unknown when he joined the Alouettes in 2008. After beginning the season on the practice roster, Taylor slowly started making a name for himself but not so much as a receiver, instead as a kick returner for the Als midway through last season. By the time the playoffs rolled around, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind who Larry Taylor was.
On two plays, Taylor almost single-handedly decided the 2008 East Final for the Als (over the crossover Edmonton Eskimos) when he returned not one, but two punts for touchdowns, finishing the game with 289 yards on punt returns.
Since then, Taylor has not looked back, putting up a stellar 2009 campaign and leading the league in punt return yardage with 591 and two touchdowns on 68 returns.
There is no doubt that the high-powered Montreal offence, doesn’t need any extra incentive to execute, however, with Taylor giving his club solid field position more often than not, QB Anthony Calvillo and his troops’ jobs become a lot easier.
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» Numbers:
12 Games Played
68 Punt Returns
591 Punt Return Yards
2 Touchdowns
33 Kickoff Returns
638 Kickoff Return Yards
7 Receptions
38 Receiving Yards